Brooklyn Today: January 10, 2012

Brooklyn Today: January 10, 2012

Good morning. Today is the 10th day of the year. On this day in 1863, the first underground passenger railway, the London tubes, opened. Boston had the first subway system in the United States, followed by New York.

Well-known people who were born today include Brooklyn-born singer Pat Benatar (“Love Is a Battlefield”), singer-bandleader Frank Sinatra Jr. and singer Rod Stewart (“Reason to Believe,” “Maggie Mae,” “Every Picture Tells a Story”).

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Today from 7 to 9 p.m. at the powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., Ayad Akhtar, Pakistani-American writer and filmmaker, will discuss American Dervish, his novel about growing up Muslim in America. With him will be Aasif Mandvi of “The Daily Show.” ...

Today at 6 p.m., the Brooklyn Public Library will present its eighth annual Powerup! Business Plan Competition awards at the library’s central branch at Grand Army Plaza. The top prize of $15,000 plus more than $5,000 in business assistance services will help the winner turn his or her dream into a successful company. ...

Tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Medical Center-Kings Highway Division, 3201 Kings Highway, you can learn about ways to prevent falling accidents. The guest speaker will be Laura DiGrande, director of the city Department of Health’s Unintentional Injuries Initiative. ...

Today at noon at Borough Hall, Borough President Marty Markowitz will celebrate National Mentoring Month with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York. He will present proclamations to “Little Brother” Cameron Miller of Ditmas Park and “Big Brother” Anthony Darden of Crown Heights.

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Today’s News

What was described as roughhousing between two friends ended as a stabbing at the Farragut Houses in Fort Greene, according to WPIX. The victim was identified as Marcquel McDuffy, 22, who lived in a nearby building. According to police, the two friends planned a day of drinking and watching TV. But they started wrestling, and that’s when the perpetrator pulled out a pen knife and stabbed McDuffy in the neck, killing him.

According to the Times Herald-Record of Rockland County, a Brooklyn parolee who allegedly waved a machete at a bus terminal in Monticello has been charged with weapons possession. Police on Friday night responded to a call of two men having a dispute at the terminal. They arrested Lamont Coles, 45, several blocks away.

The Abundant Life Church of Brooklyn has found a new place to pray after having been forced out of P.S. 91 in Flatbush, according to NY1. On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court ruled against hearing a case that would allow public schools to rent space to churches. Their new home, in the annex of an existing church, was found with the help of Assemblyman Karim Camara, who is also a minister.

According to the New York Post, thugs from Red Hook are targeting residents of nearby upscale neighborhoods such as Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Park Slope. Revelers coming out of bars on Smith Street, subway riders at the Carroll Street station, and Fairway and IKEA shoppers have been recent targets.